Bookmarkable URLThe neck of this classical-inspired vase is encircled by cords terminating in four tassels ('glands' in French) hanging down each side. Decorated with a dark green ground, the front is painted, probably by Antoine Caton (1749-98), with a mythological scene from the Aeneid, Venus showing her son Aeneas the arms she had forged for him and directing him to Dido’s palace. The motif appears on several pieces from the same period and is after a composition by Charles-Joseph Natoire. An engraved version of the painting by Jean-Jacques Flipart has survived at the Sèvres manufactory to this day. The reserve on the back shows a matching trophy with Aeneas’ arms and the rich gilding, executed by Henry-François Vincent (op. 1753-1800), includes ribbon-tied oak garlands and a ‘sablé’ (sand-like) pattern on the base of the tassels.

Together with two matching ‘vases Paris de milieu’ (now at Waddesdon Manor), the garniture was possibly bought for the comte and comtesse du Nord on 25 June 1782, before it found its way into the collection of Prince Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko (Grand Chancellor under Catherine the Great and Paul I) or into that of his great nephew, Count Alexander Grigorevitch Koucheleff, remaining in St. Petersburg until the 1860s. Frederick Davis acquired this vase and possibly the two Waddesdon pieces on a visit to Russia and exhibited it at South Kensington in 1862.

Bookmarkable URLThis garniture combines two sizes of the same model, the popular ‘cuvette à tombeau’, which was introduced around 1753 and remained in production until the 1780s. Vases of this type may have been used to display either natural cut flowers, or lavish porcelain flowers, which were also produced at the Vincennes/Sèvres manufactory. The vases are decorated with a vibrant turquoise-blue 'bleu céleste' ground, which was introduced in 1753 for the manufactory's first major dinner service made for Louis XV, and would be the most costly ground colour to be produced in the eighteenth century. The front reserves are painted with a rustic scene by Antoine Caton (op. 1749-1798), derived from several engravings by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas after David Teniers the Younger. Such cheerful peasant scenes, often after or inspired by Teniers, were introduced around 1758. A marked contrast to both the elaborate luxury of the Sèvres pieces and the noble society for whom they were produced, the mundane subjects were highly popular until the mid-1760s.

Bookmarkable URLThis pair of vases would have been filled with either natural cut flowers or lavish porcelain flowers which were also made at the Sèvres manufactory. The model is named after the marquis de Courteille, the King’s representative in charge of the Vincennes/Sèvres manufactory, to whom the first example of this model was presented in December 1753. The vases are decorated with a green ground, and painted on the back and sides with flowers and fruit, while the front reserves feature figural scenes painted by Antoine Caton (op. 1749-1798). The motifs are taken from the engraving 'La quatrième fête flamande' by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas, produced after a work of David Teniers the Younger. Such cheerful peasant scenes, often after or in the style of Teniers, were introduced around 1758 and remained highly popular until the mid-1760s.